MCP2200 USB-to-UART Serial Converter

Microchip Technology's MCP2200 USB-to-UART protocol converter, with its low-cost evaluation tool, software libraries, and Windows® based configuration tool, enables designers to quickly and easily add USB connectivity to an application without completely redesigning the system. The whole solution is designed to shorten time to market for a variety of applications in the industrial (e.g. data loggers, instrumentation, data-acquisition systems and smart-card readers) and medical markets (e.g. heart-rate, blood-sugar and blood-pressure monitors) in addition to legacy RS-232 applications.

End users increasingly want to connect embedded applications to PCs for data collection, transfer, and analysis as well as for system networking/connectivity. One of the simplest ways to add this capability to existing systems is via a USB-to-UART protocol converter, such as the MCP2200. By simply connecting the MCP2200 UART interface to any microcontroller UART peripheral, USB connectivity can be added. Additionally, the MCP2200 includes eight general-purpose I/O pins that can be controlled by the PC using the Windows-based configuration tool that comes with the MCP2200. As a result, a wider range of applications can be supported.

Diagram

Related Parts

The MCP2200EV-VCP is a USB to RS232 development and evaluation board for the MCP2200 USB-to-UART device. This board allows for easy demonstration and evaluation of the MCP2200. Accompanying software allows the special device features to be configured and controlled.

The board is powered from USB. Each I/O has an associated test point. In addition, two I/Os are connected to LEDs that are used to indicate USB-to-UART traffic when the associated pins are configured as TxLED and RxLED pins respectively.